


Lane Boy

by odinsons



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-21 10:56:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4826492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/odinsons/pseuds/odinsons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seth Rollins was never the type to stand up for people. He was a bystander, just watching  and he never did or said anything. For one, he was too scared to actually open his mouth and say something, and for two, he had a fear of talking and saying his opinion. That is, until he stands up for Dean Ambrose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! So, this is a teen!ambrollins au fic, and I really hope you guys enjoy this. I put so much thought into this fic and honestly I couldn't be more excited to post this!! I think this is my best yet.

Seth Rollins was never the type to stand up for people. He was a bystander, just watching  and he never did or said anything. For one, he was too scared to actually open his mouth and say something, and for two, he had a fear of talking and saying his opinion. He was scared of his own opinion, he was scared of speaking up. This is how he became one of Cesaro’s brainwashed idiots. Seth was too afraid to speak therefore he always agreed with Cesaro and the rest of the gang even though sometimes he disagreed. Seth feared rejection, ever since as long as he can remember he’s feared rejection.

         He sat at his usual table in the cafeteria in his usual spot beside the usual Becky at his usual school at a usual school day. Cesaro and John were laughing about something that had happened in business class and Nikki and Brie were probably gossiping with Alicia. Seth felt dead. He felt as if he was just a zombie, an idiot. Becky then poked his shoulder, waking Seth up out of his thoughts and then she pointed at something, Seth looking straight at what Becky was pointing her long, white coloured nail at. He saw Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose at the other end of the cafeteria, a little too close to each other, Dean, who was super tall, trembling under Dolph’s gaze. And then there was Roman Reigns, who was just walking into the room to see his friend being bullied. That was when Dolph turned around, bumped into Roman, and hit Roman right in the face as he turned. It seemed like immediately, as if on cue, the whole entire school, even the teachers went silent. Seth wanted to say something, but he couldn’t. He stayed frozen in place, but then he stood up, and walked over to Dolph.

       “The fuck are you doing Rollins?” Dolph asked, standing over Seth like a skyscraper. Seth felt like he was Superman, Dolph holding kryptonite close to him, making Seth weaker and weaker as he got closer.

        Seth felt his heart get caught in his chest, but then Dolph pushed him, as if pushing life back into Seth’s almost dead body. “I want you to leave them alone,” Seth said, a surge of confidence suddenly bursting through him.

        “What are you gonna do about it, huh?” Dolph asked, pushing Seth against a wall nearby. Seth trembled, and gulped, and suddenly a figure appeared behind Dolph, clearing her throat. Mr.Regal, the school’s principal, was right behind Dolph. Seth smirked, and then he pointed her finger to his office, Dean and Roman watching in shock. Seth released his breath, not realizing he was holding it in. Everyone’s eyes was on Seth now. They were either shocked at the fact that Seth fucking Rollins finally spoke up, or shocked that Dolph is possibly getting suspended. But no matter where Seth looked, all eyes were on him. Seth began to quiver, he didn’t like being the centre of attention, in fact, he fucking hated being at the centre of attention. He quickly ran out of the cafeteria, running through the hall and then finally, resting his back against his locker, throwing a fist at it.

         “Fuck,” Seth breathed, his palms sweaty and shaking. He had anxiety, bad anxiety. The things running through his mind right now we're irrational, he could barely understand them himself. Would he get in trouble too? What would Cesaro think? And Becky? And the entire school? What would happen to him if Dolph got suspended? Are Dean and Roman okay?

        Suddenly Seth heard the sound of heavy boots approaching towards him, and when he looked to his side he saw the one and only, Dean Ambrose staring down at him. “You alright?”

        “I’m fine, thanks.” Seth really wasn’t. He felt like demons were eating his insides, piece by piece and Seth was slowly falling apart, brick by brick. Dean looked at Seth with concern, and then he put an arm around Seth, walking him to the guidance office.

        “Look, are you okay?” Dean asked, his blue eyes looking into Seth’s dark brown eyes with concern. Nothing was okay, Seth wanted to tell Dean that but he barely knew the so-called troublemaker of the school that he just stood up for two minutes ago. Seth averted his gaze from Dean’s, and nodded.

        “If you say so Seth, just trying to hel,.” Dean said and left the office, leaving Seth in silence. Today was going to be a long day.

        The day dragged on, Seth’s day filled with his thoughts and the enormous amount of homework stacked on his desk, knowing he’d be spending all weekend completing this bullshit. On the way home, Seth thought about Dean and Roman. Seth knew that something went on with Dean, he was an open book without even reading the first page. The sudden bruises he gets on his body and face sometimes, his body language, the wall he puts up for himself, the reputation he tries to keep. Seth and Dean did have a class together, but they never spoke once; until today. But he knew something was wrong with Dean, he couldn’t quite put a finger on it. Same with Roman. The way everybody was scared of him, the wall--just like Dean--he puts up, the weird amount of money that he always has on him and the way that people talk about him. But Seth knew what was up with Roman, Seth knew that Roman’s family was affliated with the mafia. He wasn’t too sure about this, as he heard it from Nikki and Brie--and they talk enormous amounts of crap, but Seth believes it. Strangely, he believes everything he hears. Before Seth knew it, he was at the door of his home, walking in and dropping his bag at the front door to be greeted by the family pet, Mouse, who ironically, was a huge German Shepherd. Seth heard his brother’s and a girl’s voice in the other room, rolling his eyes.

        “Randall!” Seth shouted, walking into the room where Randy was with the girl. Seth’s older brother and the girl who he couldn’t recognize looked over at Seth, and Seth just shrugged, grabbed a juice box and went upstairs, flopping down on his bed. He looked up at his wall, looking at the map of the world and the different pictures that were stuck onto the map of him and his group, the mindless zombies in all the pictures, doing dumb things. Seth was in his sophomore year, and even though he’s only been in high school for a year, he’s seen and done so many things. But he hated it, he hated the popularity. He hated being the centre of attention. He wished he could rip that whole wall down, but he couldn’t. No matter how many times he’s brought himself to do it, he couldn’t.

         Seth turned on his record player, opened up his journal, and began writing. He scrawled the writings of his heart, pouring it out onto the paper. The scene with Dolph today, Dean trying to help Seth with his brief anxiety attack, Randy and that girl, everything. Seth had millions and millions of journals with just writing in it, and not anybody has read a single page except for him--and Mouse maybe. He didn’t trust anybody with these journals, they had his deepest, darkest secrets in them, and if anybody found them, Seth would be fucked. Seth wrote until his wrist hurt, unable to write and focus anymore. That was when his phone started vibrating.

           “Hello?” Seth said into the phone, going over to the record player to turn it down.

          “Seth, it’s Nikki, I just wanna know if you wanna come over? All of us are here,” Nikki asked, and Seth mentally sighed. What was this about?   
  


          “I would love to, but honestly Nikki, I’m tired mentally and physically. Can I skip?” Seth asked, hearing noises of disappointment in the background.

          “Fine, and by the way we all wanna know, what the hell happened today?” Nikki asked, the room suddenly turning quiet on the other line. Seth breathed, why did they even care?

          “I just stood up for Dean and Roman, I had an anxiety attack, then went to class when the bell rung, that’s it,” Seth explained, cutting out the part where Dean came up to Seth. He heard whispers in the background and some silence, but Nikki didn’t say anything.

           “So, what? You’re their friends now?” Cesaro asked from the other line. Seth rolled his eyes.

           “‘Saro, shut up. I can’t help a fellow classmate out? Fuck outta here,” Seth said, laughing that way his comment at the end seemed like a joke. The line went silent, and then he heard the phone being passed.

            “Okay, fine. It’s okay, we were just wondering. See you soon,” Nikki said, and Seth said bye before he hung up, throwing his phone on the other side of the room. Why does high school suck?

             It was a fall, Friday night, and usually Seth would spend these nights curled up in bed, listening to Foo Fighters or sketching in his sketchbook or out with Cesaro and them, but tonight was different. Seth just wanted to sleep his life away, his thoughts consuming every bit and piece of his body. Try as he might, he couldn’t fall asleep. Even though it was only four pm on a Friday night, Seth still could’ve pulled himself into some sort of nap, but every time he closed his eyes, his thoughts would just come flowing back to him.

           Seth’s phone buzzed again, this time, it was a number he couldn’t recognize.

          “Hello?” Seth asked, rubbing his face.

          “Uh, is this Seth? It’s Dean,” The voice on the other line said.

           Seth froze. Was this a prank? Was this really Dean Ambrose?  
  


          “Ambrose. How did you get my number?” Seth asked, a hint of confusion in his voice. Seth heard a light laugh on the other line.

          “Foxy gave it to me. She told me you wanted it,” Dean said, his voice suddenly filled with confusion as well. Alicia.

          “I did? Dean, I think Alicia just tried to set us up,” Seth chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. A sound of realization came out of Dean’s mouth, and he began chuckling as well.

          “How funny. Anyways, you feeling alright after what happened today?” Dean asked.

          “Yeah, I guess. I’m still shook up and all I want to do right now is cry, but, I’m okay,” Seth said, sighing. Dean probably didn’t understand, but Seth doesn’t care, he needed to talk to someone.

            “Sucks. I’m sorry, that must suck. Is there anything I could do?” Dean asked. This wasn’t the Dean Ambrose Seth knew. Dean Ambrose was a troublemaker, a no-good, doesn’t-give-two-shits teenager. Why is Dean suddenly acting different?

             "Nah, not really." Silence filled their phone lines, and Seth felt a hint of awkwardness before he heard Dean speak up.

              “Anyways, on another note, thanks for today,” Dean said, making Seth smile.

              “My pleasure. See you around, Ambrose,” Seth said, hoping this phone call would end. Seth felt awkward, he wasn’t sure what to say or do, thinking that if he said the wrong thing that everything with Dean could just end. But at the same time, Seth wanted to keep talking, but he wasn’t sure what to talk about. He was overthinking.

               “Yeah, see you,” Dean said, and Seth said a small bye before hanging up his phone. Seth exhaled, flopping down on his bed again. What else could he do for the rest of the night? He sighed, and eventually found himself at the gym, blasting his music through his earbuds.

               The weekend passed slower than Seth thought. It was Sunday night, and the only times he’s been out of the house was when he went to the gym on Friday and yesterday when he had a family get together to go to. It was Sunday night, and Seth was sitting on the edge of his balcony, feeling the light drizzle of rain pitter patter on his skin and jeans. Seth loved rain, he didn’t know why, but it relaxed him. He loved the feeling of the cold, wet, water on his skin and the wind blowing through his dark coloured hair. Seth closed his eyes, and suddenly, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He turned on his phone, his phone seeming like the sun in the dark night sky, and Seth ruffled his brows when he saw who it was.

****  
  


               It was Dean.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Just like a dream, fading like a photograph in the rain"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter to my teen au! I'd like to dedicate this to the lovely Lara, who helped me edit and make this chapter 10x better than it already was. Enjoy!

      At times like this, where a guy Seth barely knew called him, he typically wouldn’t pick up. But this time, something was telling him he should pick it up. Something was telling him that this was different, that this was something important.  As much as Seth hesitated to pick up his phone, he found himself slipping it out of his pocket and holding it to his ear.

      “Hey,” Seth answered, a little too cooly.

      “Hey, uh, Seth? This may sound a little strange but I just got kicked out of my house,” Dean said, making something in Seth’s heart flinch a little. He got kicked out?

      “Dean, what? Oh my God are you alright?” Seth asked, things that could have happened to Dean running through his mind. Then again, Seth heard the rumours of Dean’s family, and the (assumed) fact that his mom was a drug addict and Dean didn’t know his real dad. He’d heard that his mom dealt drugs to the school and that Dean’s daddy was in jail. Seth has heard countless stories, but Seth doesn’t, and probably never will, know the truth behind Dean Ambrose.

       “Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just I don’t have a place to stay and I can’t go to Roman’s either,” Dean huffed. Seth frowned, he wanted to help.

        “Wanna stay here?” Seth blurted. Almost immediately he wished he could push those words back into his mouth; why would Dean even want to stay with Seth? It’s not like they were even close, Seth just happened to be at the right place in the right time and now, here they were.

        “Seth, honestly. You don’t have--”

        “But I want to,” Seth cut him off. The line went silent, only the sound of heavy rain and Dean’s breath filling the space between Dean’s phone and Seth’s.

        “Fine. Where’s your house?” Dean asked. So Seth was wrong, Dean did need his help.

       “Okay, so I don’t know where are you right now?” Seth began, the rain suddenly getting heavier and the wind more restless. Seth walked inside, flopping down on his bed.

        “Between Owl and Full Moon,” Dean answered. Perfect, Seth knew the directions. Seth explained the route Dean should follow as he walked, and thought about what would happen once he got here. What would they even do? Where would Dean sleep? What would his parents say when they saw Dean’s faded skinny jeans and his leather jacket and his messy fringe? What would Randy say? Seth shook his head to release himself from his thoughts, and recollected himself as he heard the sound of footsteps and rain through the phone.

         “Okay I’m here. Should I come through the front?” Dean asked, Seth ruffling his eyebrows and chuckling at the question.

           “Uh yeah, why wouldn’t you? The only other way to get into my house is from my balcony in the backyard and the backyard doors,” Seth answered, confused. He heard a fence being jumped outside, and there was Dean, a wet, cold mess. How would Dean even get up here? Seth grabbed a hoodie and ran outside onto the balcony, watching as Dean climbed the ladder at the back of Seth's house to get in.

           “You couldn’t have gone through the front, Ambrose?!” Seth shouted over the pitter patter of rain on the roof. Seth heard Dean make a noise and ran forward to help pull Dean’s weight up on to the balcony. Seth pulled as hard as he could , feeling his thighs and hands burn. Suddenly, Dean’s fingers gripped onto the cool metal poles of the balcony, and Dean threw himself over, landing on his back. His eyes were closed and his chest was moving up and down rapidly, so Seth dragged him inside. Dean opened his eyes and looked up at Seth, immediately smirking when he saw the worried look on his face.

           “I’m fine, princess. Don’t worry.”

Seth smiled at the nickname. Dean turned his head and Seth noticed  a bruise on his cheekbone. Seth cringed at the sight of the exposed flesh - the mark was in a shape of a hand.  He knew it.

            “You want ice for that?” Seth asked, helping Dean up. Seth didn’t know why he was helping Dean. Yes, he did stand up for Dean-- though he didn’t know why--and yes, Seth’s heart was a little too big for his body, but he still didn’t have a clue why he was helping Dean Ambrose, of all people. Dean got up,  following Seth to the kitchen. Thankfully, everybody  upstairs most likely sleeping, and they had the kitchen all to themselves. Seth grabbed ice and put it in a ziploc bag, before noticing the redness of Dean’s nose and his freezing cold hands.

            “I’m being up your ass but do you want anything to warm you up? I could make you hot cocoa or tea or something like that,” Seth said. He knew he was probably being annoying, but he was worried. He didn’t want Dean to have pneumonia or hypothermia or something along those lines.

             “You’re not. And what kinda tea you got?” Dean asked, holding the bag of ice to his cheek, stretching out his jaw as he pressed even harder. Seth opened the cabinet, looking for the tea stash. He grabbed it and put it down on the island.

               “We got chamomile, green tea, chai, what the fuck is this--” Seth grabbed a tin of tea called “forever nuts” and  put it down, he’d find out what that was later “--anyways, peppermint, sleepytime, peach tea, rose tea and earl grey.” Seth was out of breath after that sentence, and Dean stared at him in confusion, chuckling quietly.

                 “Green tea is fine,” Dean answered, sitting on top of Seth’s counter and icing  his side. Seth grabbed a mug, waiting for the kettle to boil. Dean seemed to be in his own little bubble as Seth texted back his group chat with Cesaro, Nikki, Brie and his other friends. Eventually he bid them goodnight, and turned his attention to Dean, who was also on his phone. In the dim light of his phone, Seth could see Dean up close for the first time since Friday. Dean’s jeans were tight on his long, lean legs, and a plain white t-shirt and black leather jacket seemed to be a staple with Ambrose. It’s what made Dean Ambrose himself. But Seth also examined his face, noticing the dark bags under his eyes, the scar under his lip, the mess of curls which fell perfectly onto his face, and the bright blue of his eyes, which seemed to greatly contradict their sleepy demeanor. Seth sighed, pouring Dean his tea after the kettle went off.

                  “Thanks,” Dean said, smiling. He dropped the ice bag into the sink and followed Seth back to his room, where, hopefully, Dean would tell Seth what was going on. The second time Dean  entered Seth’s room, he actually got a chance to look around it. (The dark coloured walls, the map and the wall o’ zombies, the frame Seth had of The Beatles, his record player)

                 “Nice room.” Dean said, almost out of nowhere. Seth jumped at the sound of Dean’s voice, then nodded.

                 “Thanks. I fucking hate it,” Seth chuckled, sitting on the foot of his bed. Dean sat beside Seth on his bed, laughing lightly through a frown.

                 “Why? It’s pretty awesome if you ask me.”

Seth didn’t know why he hated his room so much, he just did. He hated everything about it, even the tacky glow in the dark stars which he also strangely loved at times.

                  “I don’t even know,” Seth answered, sighing. Dean took a sip of his tea, licking his lips. Shit, that reminded Seth.

                   “Okay so are you cool with sleeping on the futon in here? I just remembered the guest room has storage shit in it,” He asked. Dean nodded, evidently not caring where he slept. Seth got up from the bed and walked to the other side of the room, pushing the white futon farther away from the wall. Dean would have to sleep under the wall of zombies, which surprisingly he hadn’t commented on yet. Seth pushed the back down  to turn it into a bed,  grabbing a blanket and a pillow from his closet.

                    “That’s your bed, sorry about the wall of my friends,” Seth said, scratching the back of his neck. Dean looked at the wall, smirking and looking back over at Seth.

                    “Why do you hang out with them, Seth?” Dean asked. Seth didn’t have an answer to that. He was so different from all of them - Cesaro, the buff, smooth-talking Swiss dude who made all the girls swoon, Nikki and Brie, the most popular girls in school, Daniel with his loveable happy-go-lucky character, Alicia who was super smart but also super hot, and Becky, the Irish ass kicker. But Seth? Seth was nothing more than a copy. He wasn’t attractive, he didn’t have a good personality, hell, Seth even suffered from anxiety. While his friends were normal human beings, Seth had  to suffer through the hell that was his own mind.

                    “I don’t know.” was all Seth could get out of his mouth. Dean made a noise that sounded like a scoff, a disappointed look in his eye.

                    “You’re too good for them,” Dean said, making Seth smile. That was good at least.

                   “Thanks, Dean. Okay, so since I got something off my chest, why don’t you tell me what’s up with that mark,” Seth asked, pointing at Dean’s reddened cheek. Dean suddenly averted his gaze, mumbling something under his breath.

                    “What? Dean, what’s up?” Seth asked, sitting in front of him, crossing his legs. Dean gulped, his adam’s apple bobbing. Seth knew that whatever happened to Dean had happened before, he could tell by the look on his face and the fact that he seemed unphased, yet broken.

                     “My mom hit me,” Dean answered, Seth’s eyes widening in shock. He knew it.

                    “Oh my God Dean. Are you alright?” Seth asked, sitting beside Dean on the futon. Dean nodded, but Seth knew that Dean wasn’t okay. He probably felt fucking awful. It broke Seth’s heart, and Seth barely knew the guy.

                    “I mean--” Dean wiped a stray tear from his blue eyes “--it’s not the first time she’s put her hands on me, you know? But this time it hurt,” he said, his gaze still on the floor. Seth sighed, wishing he could do something to help Dean.

                     “Have you told anybody?” Seth asked. Dean shook his head.

                     “No. The only other person who knows is Roman, and now you,” Dean said, giving Seth a forced smile. Seth threw an arm around Dean in an attempt at comfort, making Dean smile a little.

                     “I’m always here for you, you know that, right?” Seth said, not really sure why he was saying it. He still wasn’t sure if he should trust Dean, but Dean had just told Seth one of his deepest darkest secrets.

                      “I know that,” Dean said, now looking at Seth. They stayed like that for a little while, just appreciating each other’s company, Seth twirling his fingers in and through Dean’s sandy coloured hair. Eventually Seth got up and yawned, finding his way to his bed.

                     “So, it’s only nine, wanna do something in the meanwhile?” He asked, turning on the tv adjacent to his bed. Dean nodded, joining Seth on the bed as he flipped through channels, finally deciding to keep it on the WWE network.

                      “Dude, you watch wrestling too?” Dean asked, chuckling in amusement. Seth’s heart flipped at that, feeling his cheeks warm up.

                       “Yeah! I do, it’s literally so fun to watch and I low key kind of want to work for them too,” Seth gushed. That was one thing Seth had written in one of his millions of journals.

                       The moment he had seen Jeff Hardy do a moonsault, Seth was hooked. He watched all the wrestling he could, eventually realizing that this is what he wanted to do in the future. He didn’t want an office job, he didn’t want to teach, he didn’t want to be a journalist, he wanted to wrestle. Wrestling was his escape from the cruel, harsh, world. He was in love with it, and nobody knew until now.

                       “Funny you say that because same here,” Dean said, not taking his eyes off the screen. Phoenix splash off the top rope. Dean made a noise, counting the pinfall with the crowd. Seth smiled, suddenly realizing that he could trust Dean. Dean cheered, and then laughed, getting back down to earth when he saw Seth staring at him.

 **  
** Seth didn’t remember what else happened that rainy Sunday school night. But he did remember falling asleep with Dean. They didn't even bother to pull the sheets over them, falling asleep as they were, Dean resting against Seth's body, their light snores filling the room.


End file.
